White Tory makes black history in debate over deaths in custody

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/08/white-tory-makes-black-history-debate-custody-deaths

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Am I my brother's keeper, demanded Cain, asked to account for Abel's whereabouts, and one understands the logic. "Me first, second and third" is a seductively uncomplicated philosophy. But it's no way to live.

Something heartening happened in the Commons last week – the first parliamentary debate on black deaths in custody. There have been at least 135 black and ethnic minority deaths since 1990. African-Caribbeans account for 3% of the population; 15% of the prison population but 20% of the deaths in custody. Even allowing for our disproportionate presence in the criminal justice system and all others areas of custody, those stats need explaining. And they were presented to the nation, in a way that has never occurred before, by a white Tory MP from Hertfordshire. Charles Walker, vice-chair of the very Conservative 1922 backbench committee, has been on an interesting journey.

Egged on by Matilda MacAttram, director of Black Mental Health UK, Walker – who has spoken publicly of his own mental-health issues – went to a conference and met relatives of people who have died in custody. A moving, troubling experience. "For the past 30 years, since I became an adult, I have been aware of grieving black families on the steps of courts or inquests flashing across my television screen," he said. "Up until this point I have chosen to do nothing. Now I am standing up and trying to do something. I may want to ask others this question, but I have to answer it: why, for 25 or 30 years, did I do nothing? Until I answer that question satisfactorily, I will not cast aspersions on others."

The member for Broxbourne hasn't gone all Malcolm X. The police are good people, he said. The system means well, but it's failing. "I do not pretend to understand the African-Caribbean community, but from the people who came to see me, there is a total loss of trust in the establishment ... I always knew that we do not live in a perfect place, but I always thought that it was a good place and that, if challenged, this country did the right thing. We have not done the right thing by the African-Caribbean community."

He had glowing reviews in the ethnic press, probably a first for him. Less mainstream coverage, but then it isn't a sexy subject. Not his brother's keeper. Still, Walker did his bit.

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